Improvement in dies for making cartridge-shells



'JOHN GARDNER.

" il `r`-ove hie nt in Die s fo r M a k i n g C artridge-S h e Hs.

` Patented May 21, 1872.

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OFFICE.

JOHN GARDNER, OF HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WIN- CHESTER REPEATING-ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DIES FOR MAKING `CARTRIDGE-SHELLS.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,949, dated May 21, 1872.

To all whom it may concern'.- r

Be it known that I, JOHN GARDNER, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Dies for Making Cartridge-Shells and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawing constitutes part of this specification, and represents, in

Figure l, a side view of the shell before the open end is contracted; Fig. 2, the same after the end has been contracted; Fig. 3, a vertical central section of the die Fig. 4, the central part or spindle part of the die detached; and

in Fig. 5, the same as in Fig. 3, with the shell in position after operation.

This invention relates to an improvement in dies for the manufacture of that class of shells for lire-arms in which the open end is contracted to inclose the ball, leaving the rear of larger diameter for the purpose of an increased charge of powder in the same length.

The usual method of contracting these necks has been to form the shell as seen in Fig. 1, and then to force it into a die substantially of the shape of the outside of the shell, or to spin it down. In the rst, very many shells are lost in consequence ofthe Wrinkling of the metal in opposition to contracting, and the last is too expensive to be practicable.

The object of this invention is to contract the neck in dies and avoid the liability to wrinkle before referred to; and it consists in a die, internally of the form of the exterior of the shell to be produced, combined with a central spindle formed in parts, or otherwise made elastic, so as to fill the shell in the larger porl tion of the die as well as the contracted portion, so that the shell forced into the die over the spindle will be contracted around the said spindle, and the spindle yield'for the removal `of the contracted shell from the die. l

A is the die, the upper portion a. conforming to the exterior of the larger part of the shell,

\. and the lower portion to the contracted part of the shell. Within this is centrally arranged a spindle, B, the upper portion b of which cor responds in diameter, or nearly so, to the internal diameter of the shell, and contracting at the lower portion, as atvd, to the internal diameter ofthe contracted portion of the shell, and set into the die, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the enlarged and contracted portions of each are in their proper relative positions to each other, leaving a space between the two correspondin g to the thickness of the metal of the shell. This spindle is divided vertically into several parts, f f, more or less in number, so

that the enlarged portion may be easily con` tracted. Into the die thus constructed and prepared the shell, Fig. 1, is forced; the open end passing into the contracted portion, the metal cannot wrinkle, but is contracted between the spindle and die into the required form seen in Fig. 5, the shell being shown in solid black. To remove the shell thus contracted a follower is forced up through the spindle, or, by other means, power applied to withdraw the shell, in doing which the parts f of the spindle are, by the contracted portion of the shell, drawn together sufficiently to allow the shell to pass o the spindle.

By this Vconstruction the wrinkling is en` tirely avoided, and no shells can be lost from this cause, the operation being no longer or more diicult than that heretofore practiced, by which many shells are unavoidably lost.

I claim as my invention- The herein-describeddie for making cartridge-shells, consisting of the die A and the spindle B, in form relatively to the said die described, and divided into parts so as to allow the contracting of the said spindle, substantially as described.

JOHN GARDNER.

Witnesses A. J. TIBBITS,

J. H. SnUrnvaY.v 

